Disha Patani Interview With Fijitimes

Divya Solgama – Disha, kindly walk us through your character in ‘Baaghi 2’ as we hardly see you in the trailer of the film.

Disha Patani – A trailer is just the first impression of the film. It’s not the complete film. When you see the film, you realize how important the characters are in the film and how they’re placed. It doesn’t matter about how much I’m shown in the trailer, it’s about how you connect with me through the film. It’s an action love story. There’s a reason why Tiger is fighting in the film, and that’s for love. My character in the film is still very suspicious to the audiences, one will know all about it once they watch the film. The film is about rebels in love and how they’re fighting the world to make their lives happier. Also, Tiger is looking super hot.

Divya Solgama – Disha, what’s your take on the lack of female oriented action films in our country? Would you be ready to do such action films?

Disha Patani: I haven’t thought about it so much. I can work in an action film but it depends on the story. There should be female oriented action films. Unfortunately, not many producers are ready to invest in a film on a girl fighting. Katrina Kaif did such a thing in ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’, but we’ve never had a full fledged female action film. Be it any profession, girls are yet to get their dues. Hopefully this will change. People still cannot imagine women fighting, they have the idea of them being beautiful and there. Films are a reflection of people’s perspective and are made to cater their taste. If the society accepts women doing action then films will start showcasing that.

Disha Patani: Nothing is smooth for any profession. My sister is a Captain in the army and I think it’s as difficult. However, I can’t do 10% of what she does. It’s just that my life is much easier. My family is very supportive. Initially, they were skeptical but they were never hesitant of the idea. I was doing B. Tech and wanted to be an air force pilot. I was a very shy girl and socially awkward. I never thought I could be an actress. I didn’t know how acting was done. I won a beauty contest in Mumbai which was done for fun during a summer break. Then I was called for a shoot and a modelling agency called Toabh wanted to sign me up. I did it and also started auditioning for TV commercials. I used to stay back for a day during the contest and do these auditions. I feel lucky because I used to get what I used to get into. I started making money. I was 18 and was feeling very independent. I shifted to Mumbai after being kicked out of my college. I was made to decide it was their modelling or studies. I was just a normal girl with no idea about the industry. I had to audition and keep doing the work I did for survival. And that’s how films happened.

Divya Solgama – Are you being very choosy in selecting your roles and taking your career slow?

Disha Patani: It’s not about me taking my career slow. It’s about me signing the right film. I don’t have anyone to shield me. If a film doesn’t work I don’t know if I will get another chance. So any step that I take, I have to be careful and proud to doing the work I do. I’m selfish for a good role. I’m good at comedy personally. Once I get more confident I want to explore that genre in a film. I still have inhibitions regarding comedy and crossing the thin line of overacting. Depending on what role I get, I will see how strong it is and do it. I’m doing a south film called ’Sangamithra’ which will be a trilingual film. I’m not doing ‘Student Of The Year 2’ and was never approached for it. Currently I don’t have Bollywood projects in the pipeline.

Divya Solgama – Disha, do you recall a memorable fan moment?

Disha Patani: I remember this one girl named Muskaan who has made my first fan club ever. She’s a very sweet girl who wants to become a model. She’s from Ahmedabad and she had come to Mumbai with her family to meet me. She keeps asking me for advice on modelling and most of the times I’m unsure because I am clueless myself.